Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra

SACRAMENTO CHORAL SOCIETY & ORCHESTRA Donald Kendrick, Music Director Saturday, May 14, 2016 ~ 8 p.m. Pre-concert talk ~ 7 p.m. Sacramento Community Center Theater EUROPEAN MASTERWORKS IN MEMORY of Stan Lunetta An Oxford Elegy Vaughan Williams Narrator: Phillip Ryder Psalm 149 Antonín Dvořák INTERMISSION Harmoniemesse Franz Joseph Haydn Sara Duchnovnay, Soprano Malin Fritz, Mezzo Soprano Christopher Bengochea, Tenor Matt Boehler, Bass I. Kyrie II. Gloria III. Credo IV. Sanctus V. Benedictus VI. Agnus Dei SINCE ItS EStABlISHmENT In 1996, the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra (SCSO), conducted by Donald Kendrick, has grown to become one of the largest symphonic choruses in the United States. Members of this auditioned, volunteer, professional-caliber chorus, hailing from six different Northern California counties, have formed a unique arts partnership with their own professional symphony orchestra. The Sacramento Choral Society is a non-profit organization and is governed by a Board of Directors responsible for the management of the Corporation. An Advisory Board and a Chorus Executive elected from within the ensemble also assist the SCSO in meeting its goals. BoarD OF DIrEctOrS conductor/Artistic Director–Donald Kendrick President–James McCormick Secretary–Charlene Black treasurer–Maria Stefanou marketing & Pr Director–Jeannie Brown Development & Strategic Planning –Douglas Wagemann chorus Operations –Catherine Mesenbrink At-large Director (SCSO Chorus) –Tery Baldwin At-large Director–George Cvek At-large Director–Rani Pettis Advisory BoarD Winnie Comstock, Comstock’s Business Magazine Lynn Upchurch, Lynn Upchurch & Associates Doni Blumenstock, Connections Consulting Patrick Bell, EDGE Consulting & Coaching James Deeringer, Downey Brand Ronald Brown, Cook Brown, LLP Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra Business Office: 4025 A Bridge Street, Fair Oaks, CA 95628 Scan QR code for a Phone: 916 536-9065 direct link to SCSO E-mail: [email protected] Concerts & Events 2 SAcrAmEntoChorAl.cOm Season 20 WELCOme JAMES MCCOrmICK PRESIDEnt, BOARD OF DIREctOrs TWENTY AMAZING YEARS! As we cap our 20th season of enhancing the cultural life of our community with this evening’s European Masterworks performance, we are grateful for the friendships that we have made along the way. Together we have brought hope, joy and inspiration to one another through beautiful music that draws us together and transports us to another place. Our dedicated Chorus is truly the lifeblood of the SCSO. Together with conductor Donald Kendrick, our professional orchestra, our board, our chorus operations team, our volunteer office staff and you, our patrons, our chorus members give generously of their time, talent and passion to bring great classical music to our community. We celebrate the end of our 20th season with: • Singathon 2016 that raised $50,000 to help sponsor our recent Spring concerts • a successful Big Day of Giving 2016 – despite its serious technical challenges • a $24,600 Wells Fargo matching grant opportunity to help grow our annual fund • the release of yet another new CD, Carmina Burana II – available in the lobby • a proposed June 2017 self-funded concert tour to Scandinavia and the Baltics • year-end party on June 11th (see ad) to announce our 21st season… and more As we make our way towards our Silver Anniversary in 2021, we tip our hat to you and we thank you from the very bottom of our collective SCSO hearts! Together we really do make great things happen in the arts. 2015–2016 SAcrAmEntO ChorAl SOciety & OrchestrA 3 For a Beautiful Home. In a Beautiful World. Professional Cleaning, Repairing & Appraisals SACRAMENTO 2550 Fair Oaks Boulevard between Fulton & Munroe (916) 486-1221 ROSEVILLE 1113 Galleria Boulevard in front of Nordstrom (916) 780-1080 www.mansoursruggallery.com 4 SAcrAmEntoChorAl.cOm Season 20 PROGRAM NOTES THE SCSO’S 20 AmAZING YeARS This evening’s European Masterworks performance caps the SCSO’s milestone 20th season in fine style as we transport our listeners to England, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and Austria. This evening’s three featured choral orchestral masterpieces were written during three distinct musical periods: Late Classical, Romantic and 20th Century. Conductor Donald Kendrick and the SCSO take great pride in presenting these important and contrasting works of Western Civilization that might otherwise never be heard and enjoyed in our community. ralph Vaughan Williams 1872–1958 An Oxford Elegy 1949 English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song tradition. His output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century. An Oxford Elegy is a very unusual choral orchestra piece. The main thrust of the text is carried by a speaker rather than by a soloist. The SCSO is pleased to welcome Phil Ryder on stage this evening as our Elegy narrator. The choir’s role moves from being a prominent part of the accompanying orchestral texture to being either a response to the spoken text or to presenting part of the poem. It is unlike almost any other English choral piece of its time but reflects Vaughan Williams’ awareness of contemporary musical ideas. Composed between 1947 and 1949, the structure of the work is rhapsodic, changing speed frequently and relying on a verse-like approach which mirrors the poetry in form but which creates musical challenges to ensure coherence in performance. The secret lies in the composer’s close attention to the fluctuations of mood in the poetry. Vaughan Williams combined sections of two poems by the nineteenth-century poet Matthew Arnold. ‘The Scholar Gypsy’ concerns a mythical figure from centuries back supposed to haunt Oxford and the hillsides which overlook its ‘dreaming spires’ – for this is the poem whence that famous quotation comes. Vaughan Williams skillfully cuts extracts from the poem into parts of another Arnold poem, ‘Thyrsis’. This was a tribute, through comparison with a Classical poet, to his friend the poet Arthur Hugh Clough who died young. Hence, the piece serves as an elegy. The moods through which the music move end with resignation and acceptance as this nostalgic piece returns to its opening key and the choir urges all to ‘Roam on’ as the Scholar Gypsy does. 2015–2016 SAcrAmEntO ChorAl SOciety & OrchestrA 5 RETREAT FROM The Westin Sacramento is situated THE BUZZ OF on the banks of the Sacramento River and is poised for comfort SACRAMENTO AND and relaxation. This Sacramento DISCOVER OUR hotel features designs inspired by SACRAMENTO European architecture with the RIVER HOTEL travelers needs in mind. The hotel where the Guest Artists of the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra stay. River views and private balconies accompany many of our newly refreshed guestrooms. Leave this Sacramento hotel on the river more rested then you arrived with our uplifting hotel grounds, invigorating spa and delectable cuisine. THE WESTIN SACRAMENTO 4800 Riverside Boulevard · Sacramento · Phone: (916) 443-8400 WESTINSACRAMENTO.COM 6 SAcrAmEntoChorAl.cOm Season 20 PROGRAM NOTES It is not clear why Vaughan Williams paired excerpts from “The Scholar Gypsy” and “Thyrsis.” The former is a tribute to a past that is nearly lost, and the latter was written as a homage to Arthur Hugh Clough, a schoolmate of Arnold’s whose poetic promise perished with his untimely death and who may have represented for Arnold the embodiment of the wandering “Scholar Gypsy.” Whatever his reasons were, Vaughan Williams created a theatrical work of imposing melancholy and hauntingly memorable melodies. Antonin Dvoràk 1841–1904 Psalm 149 1879 Antonin Dvorák was the second Czech composer after Smetana to achieve worldwide recognition. His style has been described as the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them. Dvorák was one of the shining stars of the late Romantic period, exhibiting all of the passion, emotion, and variety of late 19th century composition. He had a wonderful sense of melody and line, and at times drew upon the music of native cultures to inspire his compositions, a common technique of the Romantic period in literature, music, and the other arts. Praise and sing, O sing a new song to Jehovah! To His honor, glad resound your joyful hallelujah! The entire work is ceremonial and jubilant in mood, requiring extra brass on stage in the orchestra. Some eight years later when Dvorak was revising earlier pieces he had not yet published, he decided to rework his Psalm to some extent as well. Apart from minor alterations in the orchestral score, the chief revision concerned the choral parts, which he rewrote for mixed choir. Franz Joseph Haydn 1732–1809 missa Solemnis in B Flat – Harmoniemesse 1802 Best remembered for his symphonic music and honored by music historians who have dubbed him the “Father of the Symphony.” Haydn worked his way from peasant to Kapellmeister. While Austria was his home, he traveled to London to write his most famous symphonies. A great nature-lover, he was an avid hunter and fisherman…and he was also a mentor to a young music student by the name of Mozart. 2015–2016 SAcrAmEntO ChorAl SOciety & OrchestrA 7 PROGRAM NOTES Haydn’s Harmoniemesse was the composer’s last great work that he ever wrote. The SCSO had the pleasure of performing this Mass throughout Europe in July 2004 in Munich (Ottobeuren Abbey), Prague, Vienna and Budapest. This masterpiece therefore brings back some great international memories for many of our chorus members. A professionally mastered CD recording by Radio Hungary of the SCSO’s July 2004 performance of Hadyn’s Harmoniemesse in Budapest’s famed Liszt Academy is available in the lobby at this evening’s performance. The music is rich and inventive and is written on a large scale. Haydn’s Harmoniemesse allots the bulk of the text to the chorus, though soloists play important roles at significant textual moments.

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